Category Archives: Crafty

Today is day two of the resistance. Somehow I will find time to stand up for truth and equality every single day. Some days I might mail a postcard. Other days I’ll pick up the phone. At night and on the weekends I will research and scheme. Some days I might just exchange a knowing glance with a stranger on the street.

On Friday night I gathered at a friend’s house to make posters for the Boston Women’s March. Moms, dads, daughters, and sons got creative. We quietly crafted our messages, preparing to show the city (and the world) that we stand for equality, education, inclusiveness, the environment. Yes, we are mad and we’re going to fight. Constructively, relentlessly, together.

StyleCarrot/Marni Elyse Katz

“You Ruth Bader Believe I’m Mad”

StyleCarrot/Marni Elyse Katz

“Women’s Rights are Human Rights”

StyleCarrot/Marni Elyse Katz

“NOPE Not My President”

Being a writer, I knew I needed a smart sign. Being a mom and a freelancer, I knew it was possible something could come up to foil my plans to attend the poster party Friday night. So on Wednesday morning I played with words, got busy on PhotoShop, and uploaded my file to be printed and mounted for pickup on Friday. I’m proud of my design and provocative but intelligent message. I’m going to hang it on the wall, high above my desk as a reminder of the beautiful day and the work to be done.

Since we live within walking distance from the Boston Common, I invited anyone who wanted to get into the city early to meet at our place on Saturday morning pre-march. Friends from the neighborhood came too, with kids, pets, and husbands. My husband, who comes from a long line of progressive thinkers and Planned Parenthood supporters, marched too. Handmade pussy hats compliments of my friend Marcie, who has been knitting and sewing for weeks with her daughter.

S. Hauser for StyleCarrot

Random stranger for StyleCarrot

Me and a friend, who borrowed my husband’s sign. We went back out after lunch and hopped on to the very end of the march, which concluded with an impromptu dance party on the Common.

SHOW US WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKETHIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKEBoston Women’s March, January 21, 2017Photos by Marni Elyse Katz/StyleCarrot

I didn’t take as many photos as I would have liked because I also really wanted to be in the moment, enjoying the sounds of peace, the energy of unity, and the sun on my face, on this spectacular, glorious day in the place I’ve come to call home.

Favorite signs from my day at the Boston Women’s March:

“I know signs. I make the best signs. They’re terrific. Everyone agrees.”

“Beware: We are syncing our periods.”

“This Pussy Bites”

“The is very bad” / “Free Melania”

“It’s just powder room talk.” / “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

“That dream for all children, all ethnicities, all genders, for all time.”

“Alt+Right+Delete”

“Ovaries before brovaries. Uteruses before duderuses.”

“Outraged”

“Call Congress To Complain”

“Be a slut. Do whateva you want.”

“Sex workers’ rights are human rights.”
“Stop the war on women.”

“Knock knock. Who’s there? The American people. The American people who? The American people who want freedom, diversity, free press, healthcare, justice for all.”

I borrowed the main furniture from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams (thank you Andrew Terrat) and filled in with IKEA, and added accessories from H&M Home, Target, and my own closet. There were a few DIY projects too, including dying an IKEA sheepskin rug. I wanted a pale pink blush shade. You can see I ended up with a darker rose tone. Not the end of the world; you should have seen it initially. (And you will since there’s a photo below.)

I’m not at all a DIY-er. I could be if I had more time, but I don’t, which means I also lack the patience. However I really really wanted a blush sheepskin rug and the only ones I found online were in Australia and/or were too pricey. So I looked at a couple of DIY blog posts and figured it wouldn’t be hard to dye a sheepskin rug. Did I mention I’m short on patience? The Jenny Komenda’s DIY post on Little Green Notebook that I followed was simple and straightforward. And her results were really pretty.

Here’s the finished product. Not bad, especially at a distance. Komenda used an acrylic sheepskin. I neglected to notice that. Of course I bought the real thing.

Komenda recommended Rit liquid dye in Petal Pink and Lemon Yellow. (There’s also powder dye; not sure how that works.) Who knew Rit dye was hard to come by in the city? I had to trek out to Michael’s Arts & Crafts in Porter Square for these colors. I called the independent hardware store in Beacon Hill first, but they didn’t have these colors.

After soaking the sheepskin in plain water, she used three parts pink to one part yellow to achieve the lovely pale pink. Since I wanted something a little stronger, I amped up the recipe. Too. Much. Probably I let it soak too long as well.

I pulled it out of its bath. already you can see that the long outside strands are REALLY dark and hideously pink, while the underside is pale and even white. And yes, I stirred and swished it.

Lovely! Not.

Eventually I toned it down to this shade. I rinsed it incessantly, and bleached it. Yes, I bleached my sheep(skin rug). Twice. The result? frazzled, fried split ends. Yup. Ironically, I just this minute discovered Rit Color Remover. That would have been nice to know about.

So then I gave it a trim. Not kidding. A blowdry and a trim. And a vigorous brushing.

The final result is a sufficiently fluffy(ish) sheepskin rug in an uneven—but paler!—shade of pink.

Yes, it shrunk. Here it is layered atop a large synthetic sheepskin rug, smartly untouched.

I was scrolling through my Crafty Pinterest board today when this rustic wood pencil holder caught my eye. It’s a project from arts & crafts blog Strawberry Chic. Blogger Andrea’s husband made it for her out of a piece of wood that his friend found by a river bank. Her husband just added a few holes and sanded down the edges. Think you can do it? In addition to a slice of wood, you’ll need a sandpaper, hand saw, drill, and a 7/16″ drill bit.

If I were so inclined (which I’m not), I have access to pretty much every small sized tool. In my condo! Although we live in the city, my husband insists on keeping fully stocked tool boxes in our storage closet. (Thank goodness we even have a storage closet.) He has explained his four basic kits to me. Ready?

The drill kit has electric drill (not cordless because we don’t actually ever use it; wouldn’t want the batteries to run out in between), a variety of drill bits—wood bits, concrete bits, metal bits, along with a separate tap and die set. The socket/wrench kitcontains hundreds of pieces, which was a favorite plaything when the boys were younger. The third is the catchall tool box. It’s got hammers, saws, levels, screwdrivers, clamps, stud finder, razor knife, mallets, and any other tool one needs to fix something around the house. The fourth is the electrical tool box, which contains a volt meter, circuit testers, lineman’s pliers, wire strippers, wire nuts, wire, and a soldering iron. (Seriously. He actually used it to fix our dishwasher.)

I think when he retires he should become a landlord, right? Certainly this is waaay over and above any apartment dwellers’ tool stash. Obviously he could never complain that my shoe collection takes up too much space. You could probably get an all-in-one tool kit and have everything you need, and more.

These geo planters started out as decorative tabletop objects.
The pots were constructed with aluminum tape.
A cone planter sits in a rusted, perforated tube.
The geo forms at the top were connected and got a hook for hanging.
Succulents and cacti finish the look.